#2: Private Tutoring — Realmfall: Foundations

Billy

Deep down, Billy felt terrible as he inconvenienced this orc, but he knew that it was either this option or falling prey to the strange assailants that had apparently attacked the inn. How had he managed to remain unconscious throughout the entire ordeal? I seriously need to cut back on the drinking for my own good. If he hadn’t been saved, he probably would have met a grim end. Even stranger was the fact that when he regained consciousness, he had an inexplicable urge to select one of these crystals. Was he still trapped in some sort of dream?

Summoning his courage, he decided to engage the massive orc in conversation.

“Scuse me, miss. I didn’t quite catch your name. But thank you for helping me out. I honestly have no idea where I’d be without your assistance.” A brief pause followed before he pressed on, his words tinged with uncertainty. “Do you think we’re all going to make it out of this alive? Or… at least some of us. Honestly, I can barely hold a dagger straight — never really trained to defend myself. Maybe… maybe you could give me some pointers?”

Varg

“Hrh?”

Turning around, the huge woman’s oddly white tusks gleamed as she appraised Billy. Ever since the battle against the crystalline beast, she had been in good spirits, though was still visibly shaking a bit after the spiders.

“Varg!” She pointed to herself proudly, then her large turquoise-green finger pointed to Billy. “Billy. You too handsome and large to be scared. We will all live because thunder struck during warrior’s send-off. Show curry-age!” She beamed, clearly mispronouncing courage.

She then appraised him a little more closely, her blue eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Defend self? Pointy? You want to learn to fight?” She began getting light on her toes and jiving side to side. “Urah~! Good man! I will make warrior of you. Yes.”

She clenched her fist and held it to her chest.

“Ever been in a fight before?”

Billy

Varg noticed the audible gulp in Billy’s throat before he answered her.

“Yeah, I’ve been in a few scuffles… Ugh… Who am I kidding, not really. By the Maker’s grace, I can’t even throw a decent punch. You really need to show me the ropes, guide me through everything. I promise I’ll give it my all. I want to become a warrior, a fighter just like all of you! I’ve seen you lot fight from a distance — it was amazing. That huge beast, when you threw it into the chasm… I could hardly believe my own eyes, yet there you were, doing it! How do you get this strong? What steps should I take? What do I have to do?”

Varg

Despite Billy’s nerves, Varg’s smile grew more and more as he talked. She did not judge his inexperience — not one bit — and instead admired his courage. Her face kept a firm smile but grew more serious when he finished talking.

“OK. Lesson two. Wait. No—” She counted her fingers, recalling her Auridian. “—Lesson one.”

She stood more on the balls of her feet.

“Where I come from, we have saying:”

Orkish

“Grez’urahk uum’kel, tru’urahk uum’mel.”

“The lonely sheep fights and dies, the proud wolf fights and wins.”

“Means something like… ‘dead warrior follow the rest. Alive warrior follow their heart.’”

Taking out a mundane hatchet from her backpack, Varg threw and caught it a few times, occasionally spinning it once and catching it as she talked.

“Fighting is not just hitting. Not just lifting, being strong. Anyone do that with time. A real fighter also listening. Feeling. Being.”

Varg caught and gripped the handle.

“Listen to my movement.”

Varg slashed once sideways, the edge alignment perfect and leaving a brief crescent through the air. Before the first strike even finished there was a feint and then a second slash — upwards and with a resounding WHFF-SHNNG from its power, accompanied by a backwards cartwheel done so effortlessly it was as if the axe wasn’t even in her hand. A stunning display to an average commoner, all with a mundane handaxe. Proof of a craft honed with even the basics. Somehow, it was inspiring.

“When you fight, what you seek beyond survival? To protect? Save day? To see blood? To hear crunch? To prove you fight like art? Con-sidder. Listen to what you fight for and show me a swing with this axe. Then Varg decide how to train you.”

Varg offered Billy the hatchet.

Billy

Billy watched and listened intently, awestruck. By now some of the others had paused to witness this impromptu demonstration as well. Driven by his eagerness and curiosity, he decided to preemptively swing the axe, barely allowing himself time to get a proper grip. As he swung horizontally from left to right with his right arm, he lost his balance and stumbled, crashing onto the cold, hard surface of the cavern. The momentum had gotten the best of him — a clear sign of his lack of experience. It wasn’t a stretch to assume that some people present had never witnessed combat firsthand in their entire lives. After all, why would they? Keldern Village was the very picture of tranquility.

“I… I can’t! I can’t do this! I’ll never be like you lot. I don’t know what I’m fighting for… I… At this rate I can’t even save my own back, let alone the others.” Embarrassment tinged his words as he realized that some of the other villagers were now actively spectating him — and, of course, his joke of a demonstration.

Varg

Varg didn’t stop smiling as Billy talked, keeping her arms folded as she watched him.

“But you can do this. You made a step, a strike. A warrior does not always have to kill all enemies to start — no.”

Varg shook her head and wagged her finger.

“Sometimes they just give others time. Surround enemy and keep shield raised. You don’t have to be like me. Day may come where we see victory because of you — because you make that small change.”

Varg then got closer to Billy, giving no option to back out at this point. He had said he wanted to be a warrior, and Varg was at least determined to teach him the basics or keep his passion burning bright. This wasn’t an excuse to humiliate him — and it might inspire the other villagers should he succeed.

“Now. Next lesson.”

Varg got into stance and mimicked Billy’s motions slowly so he could watch, comparing the wrong form to the right. Though her Auridian didn’t make her advice clear with words alone, it was more than clear as she demonstrated — the difference in balance, the movement of the hips, keeping the head straight and toward the enemy, feet at shoulder width with one pointed forward and one to the side.

“Move legs as well as arms when you swing. Stay on toes. Less flat feet. Feet up, eh?”

“Slow swings, first. Light swings. Listen to balance of your weapon. Where it cuts straight and faster. When you do it right, you will know. Hear good sound.”

After teaching him the importance of edge alignment, Varg stepped back and gestured for Billy to practice the motions. Straight and slow.

Billy

Billy’s brows furrowed as he made the attempt to get back on his feet, his movements still clumsy and slow. His cheeks were flushed like a ripe, red tomato — the embarrassment from his earlier failed hatchet swing still fresh. Gradually, an understanding of Varg’s demonstration began to dawn on him. He followed her movements more closely, now patient and receptive to the lesson. He focused on absorbing this new knowledge, taking deep breaths to steady himself.

With careful deliberation, he initiated a slow swing — a vertical downward motion. This time, he managed to maintain his balance. Progress. He repeated the action, trying his best to replicate Varg’s technique. It was as if he had tapped into an untapped reservoir of skill. His excitement grew as he swung the hatchet again.

“Yes!” A mixture of joy and surprise in his voice. “I did it! I really did it! I did it!”

Varg

“Urah~!! Now there is warrior! Well done!”

Varg continued to guide Billy along, going slow so as not to exhaust either of them.

“Now defence.” She took the staff strapped onto her back, her fingers going precariously and casually close to her sharp chakram. She calmly wielded the treated staff toward Billy. “Keep doing strike. But step to avoid my staff strikes. Don’t fear — I go very slow — eh?”

Even though she wasn’t pushing herself physically, she was still sweating quite a lot. Not being fully Auridian-fluent and trying to teach was hard, stressful work… but it worked better when her movement did the talking.

“What was job?”

Billy

Against all odds, Billy adeptly sidestepped to dodge the incoming blow — a small victory that boosted his confidence. He followed up with another hatchet swing, the motion this time accompanied by a twinge of discomfort; his joints ached from the injury he had sustained earlier when he was assailed by the odd rocky creature. He tried his best to ignore the pain. He wanted to prove a point, and he wasn’t sure why he felt this way, but he couldn’t give up. Not after Varg had encouraged him to go this far already. More! I can do more! I know I can!

He briefly paused, considering Varg’s question. “Job… me… No, I didn’t work. I didn’t do much.” His words carried a tinge of sadness, as if the admission weighed heavily on his shoulders. Guilt. Shame. Varg could sense it from him easily.

Varg

Varg remained non-judgmental, then laughed heartily — not at him, but with him, despite his sadness.

“Varg didn’t work for many suns either. Then had no choice… had to if wanted kids to live. The days Varg didn’t work were best days of Varg’s life! Urah hah~!”

She punctuated her laugh with a bit of a faster thrust, surprised pleasantly when Billy dodged it. He was getting somewhere — showing promise a bit faster than most.

“Nice dodge! Varg decides you have what it takes to be warrior. Easily in time.” Varg grinned. “Yet you don’t look proud of your progress. This about job thing? Hmm…”

Varg stopped the thrusts, giving them both a break as she looked at Billy more seriously.

“Thing with working is. You could work one GRILLION suns” — she waved her hands as if to emphasise that ‘GRILLION’ was a very, very big number — “and then be forgotten after.”

“You could also never work a day ever. But when the day comes, step up and fight. Step up and be a hero. And people won’t remember you for being lazy in the end. No… They’ll remember the hero bit. Who lived the better life? The worker or the hero?”

Varg strapped the staff back onto her back, grinning.

“Varg’s advice is stay free. Follow only things that excite you… Make you feel like tiger, eh? I see your excitement at this training. I see fire in your eye when you see yourself getting better.”

She fully tightened her yellow headband.

“No shame in being free, warrior. Just be guy who tried in the end!”

Billy

Billy’s face brightened visibly at Varg’s encouraging words. His determination seemed to have soared, and his posture shifted to one of renewed purpose. The steep wall before him now appeared less insurmountable, as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The complacency that the abuse of alcohol had draped over his life was starting to unravel — it had helped him deal with his pain and past failures, but despite the current circumstances, there was a light now; something to work towards. Deep down he understood that he could probably never reach Varg’s level of expertise, but that didn’t deter him from wanting to improve. He felt something resonate near him momentarily, but he ignored it as he wasn’t sure what it could be.

“Thank… you… Varg.” He returned the hatchet to her — he didn’t want to exhaust himself, not when they were not safe yet. “Do you have another headband? If we part ways later, I’d like to wear something similar, something that reminds me of this moment — of the strength I found here. When… when things get tough.”

Varg

Varg clipped her hatchet back into a belt ring holster.

“Head… Band… Oh!” She pointed to her forehead. “Mean this? Sure!”

Opening her pack, she rifled through numerous belongings — folded piles of spare clothes, things going flying everywhere — then held something up. Another headband, but not a precise copy: a simple green pattern weaved around it. She threw it to Billy.

“Keep for strength! And ask for Varg lesson anytime if meet. But one day, Warrior Billy wear own warrior clothes! HAH!”

She grinned with a flex and a thumbs-up, then messily repacked her things and prepared to get moving again with the others.